When they arrive, they find they've been put on some kind of probationary status, and they must report every day until the matter is cleared up. They call it the Rubber Room. Average length of stay? Months, sometimes years. Plus other stories of the uneasy interaction between humans and their institutions.

We hear from New York City school teachers about a secret room in the New York City Board of Education building. Teachers are told to report there, and when they arrive, they find out they're under investigation for something. They have to wait in this room all day, every day, until the matter is cleared up. They call this bureaucratic purgatory "the rubber room." Some teachers have been stuck in it for years. (23 minutes)

This story was produced by Joe Richman, Samara Freemark, and Anayansi Diaz Cortes of Radio Diaries.

We first heard about the rubber room from a documentary by Jeremy Garrett. There's a trailer at rubberroommovie.com.

Update: in 2010 the City and the teacher's union came to an agreement that will close the Rubber Room. Education • Jobs/Employment